U. Perk Group To Study Bids For Trash Removal Next Week

The group that oversees trash removal in three Upper Perkiomen boroughs will begin looking over bids next week to decide which firm to recommend for a three-year waste disposal contract.

The oversight group will study the six bids that were opened last night before the Red Hill Council meeting. The group's recommendations will be passed along to the governing bodies of East Greenville, Pennsburg and Red Hill.

The waste disposal contract, which will cover 2,268 homeowners in the three municipalities, will become effective Jan. 1.

Low bidder was Colmar's Bux-Mont Refuse, with a per-unit cost of $118.80 over the three years. High bidder was Eastern Waste Industries of Honeybrook with a three-year per-unit cost of $199.56.

* J.P. Mascaro and Sons of Souderton, an across-the-board $42.23 annual per-unit cost, or $126.69 over three years.

* Waste Management in Gilbertsville, $145.20 per unit.

* Browning-Ferris Industries, $153.

According to committee chairman Arlington Shup, Danella's one-year contract expires Dec. 31. The firm's per-unit cost, at $125, includes a $55 per ton "tipping fee" at the county landfill outside Pottstown.

Shup said the three boroughs will pay the county the fee directly beginning next year to save money by eliminating the hauler's administrative costs for collecting the fee.

Shup also said the board will visit Colmar soon to evaluate the Bux-Mont operation.

"All we have is a bid on paper," Shup said. "We'll want to check them out before a decision is made."

Awarding the contract is expected to come after a vote next month, Shup added.